JCBowie's Sketchwork

[Optera]

Hi! This is my first time posting on here so I hope I'm posting in the right section.. If I'm not, please tell me! haha
My printer is packed so these will be works I've previously drawn in my sketchbook and from outside work so you guys can get the jist of what I do. I'm very open to critiques, suggestions, comments, and typo corrections.
I will also take this opportunity to introduce myself. The name's Jessi and I am currently pursuing a degree in Illustration but I love to dabble in a bit of everything really. My ultimate goal is to become an art director and retire as a professor. Some of my favorite artists are Bobby Chiu, Feng Zhu, Kazuo Oga, and Yoshitaka Amano. You can see more of my art and info here: http://jcbowie.deviantart.com/

I usually draw with a Staedtler non-photo blue pencil first and then go over it with a mechanical pencil.

The above was drawn with pen. I'd also like to note that I'm still trying to find and STICK to a style. I tend to change styles a lot because I get bored of one..? I don't know why.

Watercolor of cream puff and pumpkin spice cupcake i think. 2 of 15 pastries for school assignment.

I ended up not going through with this sketch. Here you can actually see the non-photo blue pencil. Also, lol at that guy's small head.
THANK YOU CONCEPTART.ORG FOR HAVING AN AUTOSAVE urgh!
Anways…

[Beeboy13]

awesome character concepts, do you deal mostly with character designs because im kinda at that stage as well.

[Kayshay]

Nice start! Your style seems very interesting...keep posting!

[Sleep.less]

A very good start with your sketchbook. I'm very curious to see what you can do with colors.

[Optera]

Beeboy13, Thanks! Drawing characters is probably my favorite thing to do, along with sculpting them.
Example:

But I have been trying to study/draw more environments recently. Drawing them is is fun its just coloring thats kinda tricky for me. I will post an environment study in a bit.

[Optera]

Thank you Kayshay, will do!

[Optera]

Thanks Sleep.less, I'll be sure to post some colored pieces in a bit.

[Optera]

Here is a landscape study I did earlier in December. I used a reference picture I found online somewhere.

It's a bit more colorful than I'd like it to be.
20 min getting down the colors and 20 min detailing.

[Majinpower]

The landscape study is really nice, I like it. I like how you focused in on the rocks, those details are sweet ! The rest of your stuff is pretty awesome as well, the dessert studies got me hungry though :/ haha. Keep it up.

[greymatter]

Your characters are very interesting, great line weight

[Rhubix]

The stuff you've posted in here so far is really fun, particularly the characters. I think this is going to an interesting SB to watch grow so keep posting

Happy sketching!

[Optera]

CA is back up! Whoop! Happy New Years and thanks for the kind words guys.

I have so much on my mind right now but maybe another time.
so instead… here are some screenshots of a sketch I did about.. two days ago? The names Rowan Reeds.

[Optera]

Some sketches while watching TV. Hellboy was on. Drawing people as they move is hard :c

[Optera]

just playing around with Sculptris. she kinda reminds me of grandmother fu from mulan.

[Optera]

Prepare for noobishness. Critique it please! I don't care if its harsh or obvious lol. I know I need to fix the values and I should've started in black and white but I think in colors :c hah but if you agree with the value thing say so anyway. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I want to learn. I'm also going to add some people in there and fish to show scale later on.



As to what it is…. it started out being a mech turtle diving unit but then it needed more to it so I thought making it into an underwater train would look better.

[Beeboy13]

Hey J.C my bad on the late reply the backgrounds posted here are sweet, you seem well rounded when it comes to art. Keep up the awesome work, really coo

[Optera]

No worries. Thanks for the feedback!

---

So.. I've been drawing a lot, I'm just not allowed to post stuff on it yet until everything is polished. I'm working on a comic with a friend so hopefully when Chapter 1 comes out I'll be able so post some of those sketches.

Lil doodle of a thresher/hammer head shark/ bat/ shrimp… thing.


And drew a quick study of a photographed secretary bird I found online a few weeks ago…

[masterpug]

I love that last one. So much color. You really had a good vibe of in/out of focus going on it. The sketches are pretty spot on too. I am curious as to where the 3D head went. Did you ever get textures and the like slapped on that?

[WRappiii]

Absolutely beautiful style! very nice characters.

[Sleep.less]

Your underwater machine piece thingy lacks structure. Clearly decide on your light sources and light everything accordingly to give a sense of volume.
Really like your december landscape study and the Rowan Reeds bust painting .
Keep improving.

[LePush]

cool stuff, man! i especially dig that 3d model of the old person, very cool! We just might have to collaborate here sometime soon!

[Beeboy13]

Agreed great use of color, looking forward to the comic. how far is it from being published.

[Optera]

Masterpug- Thanks! I really want to get more vibrant colors into more of my work. I tend to grey them out :c As for the 3D head.. I kinda abandoned it because Sculptris gets wayyyy laggy after about 10 min in.

WRappiii- Thank you!

Sleep.less- I couldn't agree more. I actually redrew it right after reading your post but I'm still not happy with it yet. I need to work on my lines and getting them more…. crisp and accurate. Underwater lighting confuses me so much.. maybe I should practice painting underwater creatures first? Thanks for your feedback!

LePush- That sounds great!

BeeBoy13- Verrrry loooonnggggg time. Very long. I'll post stuffs when once I get permission.

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-WARNING RANT LOL-
Blahh… the lack of posts on my behalf is making me sad.
I'm in that phase where I'm hating every drawing/painting I make and just throw it in the trash.
And… I've been hearing a lot about the gaming industry where most of them kinda treat you like a slave (save a few companies).
And… So much is going on right now that I tend to just rant vomit all over the place so imma try and NOT do that here… heh… (at least about personal/home stuffs)
I've been thinking a lot the past month and… I know my style tends to change a lot because I love all different kinds of art and I'm easily influenced by them (though it might now show.) I tried creating an influence map I saw on DeviantART as to kind of go back and find myself but it's confusing me even more haha (think I'm having a hard time separating what is visually pleasing vs. actually influencing my art) so I'm beginning to think about the very beginning.. when I was a kid I would often go outside and catch turtles or go into the woods and pretend with my best bud. Come up with stories and stuff. I would also play a lot of Spyro, Ape Escape, Driver, and Crash Bandicoot. (I didn't get into shooting games as a kid cause they scared me. Not the blood and stuff, but the people who would pop up outta nowhere. So I'd watch my uncle and cousin play instead.) I got to thinking about this because a friend of mine asked what're your top 10 video games. It got me to thinking about my childhood. What was really memorable.. and I think the direction in where I want to head towards is clearer now. I think I want to get into gaming for (10+ year olds) and help illustrate children's books and eventually get into animation and become a professor when I 'retire'. I'm always seeing these cool games that I like now that're so much more complicated and visually stimulating that it's overwhelmed my direction.

I like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot (as simple as their graphics are..) but thinking back to it, as a kid I didn't really notice how bad the graphics were. All I noticed were the cool worlds I was in, the crisp sounds collecting gems would make, the dramatic characters, the simple story it would tell, how the mood was played in the music, the puzzles and challenges that made you think and not just go charging/shooting everything. I was born in Japan and so I got to see Tonari no Totoro and Laputa on the tele with my parents. We loved it so much my dad starting collecting Studio Ghibli movies. It made me think as a kid and these simple games and charming animations have become my wonderful fantasy filled, imaginative childhood. And thats the person I want to become. A person who helps make up the next generation's childhood. Not with much violence but with wonder, fantasy, and respect for nature.
Sigh… I went on a rant didn't I… :| Whatever DEAL with it psh.
-End rant-

I'm working on the monster girl challenge as to get me started again.. I'm on #4 now but I'm thinking about redoing all of them… except for the centaur. The centaur can stay. xD Though I'll probably find something wrong with it later on..
Whatevs.
I was thinking back to what my life drawing professor taught me 2 years ago.. about angles and I really wanted to think about my lines first instead of sketching out and sketching and erasing and sketching and erasing some more.. and just not really thinking. I wanted to THINK. So .. hopefully what I was trying to do shows.

[Optera]

Attachment 1736141
Doodle from this morning. Couldn't sleep till 5am. :/
I love pugs, they're so comical.. but they're so dumb looking. It's great.

[Optera]

Oh what weird, lemme try to reattach that…

[vayne108]

Awesome stuff, very nicely stylized. and geez that pug is is hilarious, but cute !